2019/2020 Hunting Thread

[deadshank 24652]

10 hours ago, jofus said:

Got my first opening morning buck ever. Was #1 on my wish list.

Branched G2 on right side, double kickers on left side. Wow.   That is a good opening morning.  Congrats. 

 

[jkates 316]

Sat in a blind on Sunday evening with my 9-year old son. My dad sat in a different food plot. We didn't see much. A spike came out just after sunset. We let him walk because we were hoping for does and pigs. We'll try again this weekend. Still not much better than walking through the woods with my dad and son, even coming up empty.

[Anastasis 23463]

7 hours ago, jkates said:

Sat in a blind on Sunday evening with my 9-year old son. My dad sat in a different food plot. We didn't see much. A spike came out just after sunset. We let him walk because we were hoping for does and pigs. We'll try again this weekend. Still not much better than walking through the woods with my dad and son, even coming up empty.

Sat yesterday evening and this morning.  Buncha does and fawns. Gotta a good snort from the tree line on my way out and that was about it. 

[BabaYaga 15288]

Lease our place out to hunters.  So my days of opening day butterflies are starting to wane.  I do get a kick out of their pictures.  Taking both the boy & girl this year during the extended season.  Be the girls first time in the blind.  I think she's ready.  

[Storm the Field 5294]

On 11/3/2019 at 8:08 AM, Johnny Sack said:

Anyone ever keep the neck meat?  I’ve heard it’s good.  If so, how do you cook it?

Exactly like you would a beef pot roast.

Season with salt, pepper, garlic and brown the outsides in a frying pan. Then throw it in a crock pot or oven roast pan with onions, carrots and potatoes for a few hours until it falls apart off the bone. Preferably served on a cold, rainy night.

Literally just pick your favorite pot roast recipe and make one substitution.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

What if I don’t like pot roast?

[Storm the Field 5294]

1 hour ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

What if I don’t like pot roast?

Then I'd counsel against cooking a roast.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

1 hour ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

What if I don’t like pot roast?

https://thenationalmarijuananews.com/weed-recipes-special-pot-roast/

[Brisketexan 105068]

What if I don’t like pot roast?

Then you should turn yourself into the authorities for either reprogramming or execution.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

Pot roast is trash and should only be served for people like Brat at Luby’s.

[HOOKEM4 5036]

My least favorite meal growing up and I refuse to waste meat in that fashion as an adult. Give me any cut of meat and I will make it better than anything ever wasted in a slow cooker.

[Anastasis 23463]

Did someone say venison roast?

sidenote: We need a thread on the food and travel board to share game recipes.  Gonna need some help with a good sausage recipe.

[Ollie Slatt 289]

20 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

sidenote: We need a thread on the food and travel board to share game recipes.  Gonna need some help with a good sausage recipe.

Agreed. 

BTW, Every game recipe I have tried from Hank Shaw has been great.  

https://honest-food.net/  

[686 3447]

Did someone say venison roast?
sidenote: We need a thread on the food and travel board to share game recipes.  Gonna need some help with a good sausage recipe.

Would you be so kind as to post the recipe for this, good sir?

[Anastasis 23463]

21 minutes ago, 686 said:

Would you be so kind as to post the recipe for this, good sir?

 

To be honest I don't remember the detail.  My recollection is that I seasoned and sous vided it with a sear to finish. I am sure that there were garlic cloves, onion powder, salt and pepper in there, and maybe a pat of butter. Probably some aromatics thrown in during the sear. Looks maybe 135 deg temperature. 

Edited November 7, 2019 by Anastasis

[BabaYaga 15288]

Become my favorite part of hunting:  cooking.  To the point that I love pics from our hunters on larger deer, but give me kids in the blind and a decent sized doe to process and I'm good.  

Reverse seared back straps, roast, bacon/jalapeno wrapped slices, etc.  

[Storm the Field 5294]

18 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

My least favorite meal growing up and I refuse to waste meat in that fashion as an adult. Give me any cut of meat and I will make it better than anything ever wasted in a slow cooker.

This more or less translates to "I grew up around shitty cooks."

[Brisketexan 105068]

25 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Become my favorite part of hunting:  cooking.  To the point that I love pics from our hunters on larger deer, but give me kids in the blind and a decent sized doe to process and I'm good.  

Reverse seared back straps, roast, bacon/jalapeno wrapped slices, etc.  

On the roast angle, here's what my Maverick County aunt would do.  Roast a shitty cut of venison -- big, thick, tough, whatever.  Slow cook it so it will get tender and shred.

Shred the venison.  Heat up oil in a big pan.  Sautee the shredded meat till bits start to crisp.  Add diced onions, jalapenos, maybe a bit of tomatoes and continue cooking.  Salt to taste.  Put the pan on the table with a bunch of little tortillas.  Make venison deshebrada tacos.  Eat, like, a hunnert of em, with cold beer.  Fucking glorious.

[Anastasis 23463]

Fuck yes^ 

[HOOKEM4 5036]

1 hour ago, Storm the Field said:

This more or less translates to "I grew up around shitty cooks."

That or more evolved palates.

[HOOKEM4 5036]

It should be a crime to waste backstrap in a crockpot.

[Kennythetiger 9376]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

On the roast angle, here's what my Maverick County aunt would do.  Roast a shitty cut of venison -- big, thick, tough, whatever.  Slow cook it so it will get tender and shred.

Shred the venison.  Heat up oil in a big pan.  Sautee the shredded meat till bits start to crisp.  Add diced onions, jalapenos, maybe a bit of tomatoes and continue cooking.  Salt to taste.  Put the pan on the table with a bunch of little tortillas.  Make venison deshebrada tacos.  Eat, like, a hunnert of em, with cold beer.  Fucking glorious.

This sounds good with beef, too.  

[Brisketexan 105068]

13 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

This sounds good with beef, too.  

That's the traditional preparation -- carne deshebrada.

[DonnyKerabatsos 86]

If you have the means, do not de-bone any meat from a carcass until at least 3 says after the animal has died. The meat will relax and you wont have tough cuts. 

 

backstrap should be sliced thick and seared over high temps, like a filet.

[Kennythetiger 9376]

I think chicken-fried backstrap is still my favorite.  

[Anastasis 23463]

I spun off a Food board thread to share recipes and prons.

 

[Reagan1k 3024]

2 hours ago, thestud said:

I have my hams thin sliced for the sole purpose of chicken frying them. Salt and pepper them then soak in buttermilk for 24 hours or so. Pull them out and tenderize with the High Steaks Roller meat tenderizer. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and smoked paprika mixed into the flour.

I have my processor tenderize my sliced ham steaks before vacuum packing.  Make them more consistent and while it's a sign of me being lazy, it reduces the odds that I scrimp on that step.

Chicken fried or smothered......dredge, brown, and them simmer with a bit of broth, dollop of butter, and some cream, dash of Worcestershire or Pickapeppa, some Crystal, and topped with sliced onions and mushrooms.

Let that cook down and enjoy on a cold night.

[HOOKEM4 5036]

Hoping to finish up work early and get out to the blind this afternoon. FIL went by the ranch on the way back from a North Texas muley hunt and brought me back the camera cards. New contestants have arrived. Got pics of several new bucks that showed up. We have an absolute bumper crop of doe this year so I was waiting for the bucks to show up. Very excited to finally get something on the ground.

[fattyflattie 4639]

How’d his muley hunt go? 

[HouTex 1866]

I have my processor tenderize my sliced ham steaks before vacuum packing.  Make them more consistent and while it's a sign of me being lazy, it reduces the odds that I scrimp on that step.
Chicken fried or smothered......dredge, brown, and them simmer with a bit of broth, dollop of butter, and some cream, dash of Worcestershire or Pickapeppa, some Crystal, and topped with sliced onions and mushrooms.
Let that cook down and enjoy on a cold night.

Pretty much how we cooked them except we browned the onions while browning the meat. It ends up sort of like the cajun dish grillades.

[Reagan1k 3024]

Very much like grillades - That's one of my favorite dishes, and I like eating these leftovers over grits the next morning too.

[HOOKEM4 5036]

2 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

How’d his muley hunt go? 

My FIL is a 75 year old man of very very few words. I asked him how it went and he said they shot 2 deer. He didn't shoot anything. No idea if they were good deer, I assume he would have told me if they had shot a good buck. 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

Guys I need you to do yourselves a favor and go find Wireless Rancher on Facebook and check out his systems. I just got in touch with this guy a couple weeks ago and he is already working on two custom systems for us. He did one for a friend in Seymour and they have had huge success. Even if you don’t need a trap, at least go by his Fb lave and give it a like, he posts some pretty badass videos.

What price ranges do these run?

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

We’ve got pens already so that might be a good option for just the gate.

[fattyflattie 4639]

2 hours ago, thestud said:

Guys I need you to do yourselves a favor and go find Wireless Rancher on Facebook and check out his systems. I just got in touch with this guy a couple weeks ago and he is already working on two custom systems for us. He did one for a friend in Seymour and they have had huge success. Even if you don’t need a trap, at least go by his Fb lave and give it a like, he posts some pretty badass videos.

I think I put this on the scat site, but I’m very close friends with the guy who distributes all of Jager Pros stuff for La/TX/OK area.  Also disposes of the animals if you don’t want them etc.  Very cool setups if you are overrun by pigs.  There’s also a guy advertises his system on Craigslist at about 50% cost of Jager.  Cody something or other. 

[UTEX90 589]

Anyone else hunt in a county with antler restrictions?  I saw about 16 bucks last weekend and only one would have been a legal shooter.  I have mature bucks running around with racks that look like telephone poles who are breeding the does and continuing the trend.  This is by far the dumbest rule TPWD has come up with.  I need to be culling the basket racks and letting the deer with nicer spreads breed the does.  It is increasingly frustrating.  On 3000+ acres we probably have 2 bucks that actually fit the bill that are old enough to take and I don't want to because I want the herd to improve.

Also what is the deal with deer with horns on only one side?  I have two bucks running around like that.  Also have a 1.5 year old with a young pretty rack but no use of one of his hind legs.  I don't know whether to take these deer out or not.

Should I contact the game warden?  I tried this one year when I had buck that was at least 6 years old running around with super thick main beams, small points and was had only about an 11 inch spread.    The damn thing looked ridiculous.  I called the game warden who basically told me there shit all I could do about it. 

Very frustrating.   Would love to hear other peoples input who deal with this.  By the way, if I get MLD permits do these rules still apply?

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4975]

Culling won't do anything to change the genetics for a lot of reasons. So removing antler restrictions would just lead to younger bucks being killed on average. A hind leg injury often results in weird antler deformations on the opposite side. If the deer recovers, it's rack likely will as well.

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

54 minutes ago, UTEX90 said:

Anyone else hunt in a county with antler restrictions?  I saw about 16 bucks last weekend and only one would have been a legal shooter.  I have mature bucks running around with racks that look like telephone poles who are breeding the does and continuing the trend.  This is by far the dumbest rule TPWD has come up with.  I need to be culling the basket racks and letting the deer with nicer spreads breed the does.  It is increasingly frustrating.  On 3000+ acres we probably have 2 bucks that actually fit the bill that are old enough to take and I don't want to because I want the herd to improve.

Also what is the deal with deer with horns on only one side?  I have two bucks running around like that.  Also have a 1.5 year old with a young pretty rack but no use of one of his hind legs.  I don't know whether to take these deer out or not.

Should I contact the game warden?  I tried this one year when I had buck that was at least 6 years old running around with super thick main beams, small points and was had only about an 11 inch spread.    The damn thing looked ridiculous.  I called the game warden who basically told me there shit all I could do about it. 

Very frustrating.   Would love to hear other peoples input who deal with this.  By the way, if I get MLD permits do these rules still apply?

Do you own the land?  Or lease it?  I believe MLDP applications must be filed by the landowner.  I took a cursory glance at the overview and didn't see anything regarding a variance from county antler restrictions, so that leads me to believe that those antler restrictions would take precedence.  Probably worth a call to TPWD if you own the property.  

https://tpwd.texas.gov/business/permits/land/wildlife_management/mldp/#mldp-pdf

[UTEX90 589]

The land is family owned.   My dad owns most of the property we hunt on but I "may" be able to include some adjacent land I own.   My father would grant me authority to apply or I could do it for him.

Our buck to doe ratio is very good.  Mainly because we just aren't killing any deer.  But every day I have hunted this year I have seen more bucks than doe. 

[BillyBadAss 189]

Any recs on where to get deer/hogs processed in the S Austin vicinity? 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

1 hour ago, BillyBadAss said:

Any recs on where to get deer/hogs processed in the S Austin vicinity? 

The Buck Stops Here o Highway 290, a hair W of Circle Drive (easier to cross 290 @ the light (Circle Drive) & then make a quick R, go up the hill... down the hill... on the L.

It's a dangerous proposition to cross 290 there because it doesn't have a turn lane.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

A couple of nice bucks on my place out west of town here.

 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Also some interesting stuff happens.  Here a fight broke out over a chicken sandwich.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

On 11/9/2019 at 12:17 PM, BillyBadAss said:

Any recs on where to get deer/hogs processed in the S Austin vicinity? 

Johnny Gs meat market on manchaca does but I’ve never had one done there.  

[deadshank 24652]

25 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Also some interesting stuff happens.  Here a fight broke out over a chicken sandwich.

Chuck E Cheese for whitetails. 

[Izhmash 562]

@Judge Roybeanbag That last buck is mean looking...good mass and gnarly horns.  Good luck finding him one day!

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

8 minutes ago, Izhmash said:

@Judge Roybeanbag That last buck is mean looking...good mass and gnarly horns.  Good luck finding him one day!

He’s only got that one antler.  Deformed on the other side due to some injury.  I may go ahead and take him if he lets me, and have him mounted.  Been following him for three years now since he’s been like that.  His shed from 3 years ago is posted earlier on this thread.  Cool old boy.

[Revolution512 1487]

On 11/4/2019 at 3:46 PM, Brisketexan said:

Last year, I made a point to save a neck from the buck the boy shot.  I slow roasted it, for shredding/tacos.  It was okay.  I think it would have turned out better had I finished it the way my aunt used to: roast venison, shred it, then crisp fry it with onions, tomatoes, and peppers (add tomatoes at the end to make a little juice/sauce).  Put that on little tortillas, eat about a hunnert of em.

I didn't save a lot of the neck meat on the doe the boy shot this year.  I cut out the backstraps and tenders, am turning the rest into 1) pan sausage, 2) summer sausage, 3) chili grind, 4) burger grind.

I'm hoping to get another deer later this season, will save backstraps and tenders, then maybe turn some more into stew meat and roasts (to do the shredded taco thing), then maybe some more sausage and chili grind (man, I love venison chili).

I like your style. I just had 50 dozen venison tamales made. 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

On 11/9/2019 at 9:44 AM, thestud said:

MLD doesn’t apply to every Texas county. It is predominantly the CenTex region due to horrible hunting practices in the 80’s and 90’s. In all actuality the MLD restrictions are doing much more harm than good these days. I counted 57 doe in one wheat field and not an antler in sight. Fucking absurd

Huh?

MLD is all over south Texas.  We have been on it for 30 years.  The benefit is you do a survey and a game biologist tells you how many doe and bucks you need to harvest every year.  That with the record keeping and required habitat improvements allow landowners to properly manage the resourc

How in the world is that doing harm?

I have been on a lot of MLD ranches.  And their deer herds are in much better shape on average than non MLD places.

[Noogman 161]

Busted this guy with my bow on Saturday evening. Hit him in the liver/lungs, he ran 50 yards and crumpled underneath some mesquite.

 

 

Deer are moving pretty well up in Llano/Mason right now. Small bucks are all chasing and the big guys are just cruising. Had a really nice 9 come through with this guy on Saturday morning, neither gave me a shot. He came through by himself in the evening, had to grunt to get him to stop.

 

 

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